Children have an amazing ability to keep track of languages as this exposes them to both English and Chinese. The Let's Sing Mandarin Series uses both familiar as well as specially written songs and was produced in Singapore.
Native Speakers for Teaching Chinese
One method for those households that don't have a native speaker is hiring of a nanny who speaks Chinese. The NY Times had an article noting the increase in au pairs from China. It
is also possible to arrange play dates with other children who are
learning Chinese as well as finding a Chinese speaking babysitter. Local universities will often have spouses of Chinese working on Masters and PhD's who are looking for extra income. Another option is finding a local nanny, and there are a number around. If you are in public service, please remember Zoe Baird on
the requirements for legally hiring a nanny. Truth to be told, there is
a large population of people in the US from China who don't have papers
who work as nannies, so be careful. Nannies
are also taking care of your children, so picking the right person is
extremely important, especially if they live with you. Friends of ours have gone through multiple nannies and it was not a good experience.
Online Programs for Teaching Chinese
There are online programs for adults learning Chinese as well as native speakers.
NEW! NEW! NEW! Watch out for ChildBook's offering on Online Chinese Tutorials with tutors from Beijing. Coming Soon!
Private Chinese Schools
Traditionally non-public Chinese Schools in the US start teaching children when they are old to sit still and copy characters. Most schools are still using traditional teaching rote teaching methods still used in Taiwan and China. For the most part with children in the US, it does not work due to culture classes. There
is a huge amount of independence in children in the US and using boring
teaching methods that do not capture the interest of the child so they
want to go to school without a lot of parental pushing will end up in
failure. With the child being forced to go to school and often treating it as just babysitting, and not learning Chinese.
An
alternative is finding a school that uses more of a Montessori Method
or what is used in ESL where there is a lot of conversation. I
was pleasantly surprised by my daughter's public school language
teacher who spoke of using this method in the classroom, instead of the
traditional focus on grammar in learning many foreign languages. At a young age, I would suggest programs that teach using a lot of singing and other fun activities.
Summer Camps
Going to a summer camp in a full immersion environment is a great way to learn Chinese! Each year ChildBook publishes the largest list I have found of Summer Chinese Programs. These range from weekend programs in the US to programs that include a boarding school to programs in China and Taiwan. I favor the full immersion process as a great way to Learn Chinese.
Chinese Learning Products
CD's for Learning Chinese
CD's come in two different types. One is products that are 100% Chinese of Chinese Children Songs or stories only in Chinese. Some products include a book of lyrics in Chinese, and other's don't. Other
products are designed to teach Chinese and have a booklet with lyrics
in English, Pinyin, and Chinese Characters. The teaching Chinese
products are both from from the US (the majority) and a series from
Singapore. The products for Teaching Chinese are bilingual, so the
songs are sung in both Chinese and English. What
I like about the CD's is they give a parent a chance to be part of the
process where they can Sing Happy Birthday in the Teach Me Chinese CD
and Book in both English and Chinese (this series focuses on popular
songs in Chinese and English). The other series have specially written songs for Teaching Chinese. The Teach Me Chinese Series has Teacher Guides available. The Sing & Learn Chinese CD & Book includes a track of the songs without words (like Karoke). Let's Sing Chinese
is a 3 product series from Singapore that has both familiar songs and
new ones. 3 is the most I have seen of any series of Cd's for Teaching
Chinese to Children.
Videos for Learning Chinese
Video's such as the Follow Jade Series use more of a hands on approach teaching basic Chinese vocabulary. Early Start Mandarin as 5 video's in their series that is very multicultural. Jade in
Follow Jade - Let's Visit Chinese Kindergarten DVD visits an actual Chinese Kindergarten. What
is great about this video is it gives your Child the chance to compare
their experience and see the differences between their school and the
one in the video. A new addition is a series of Animated Chinese Books,
they are A+! What is great about them is they have audio in English
and Chinese (you select), and sub-titles in English, Pinyin,
Traditional Characters, and Simplified! To select the right video for
your child, I recommend reading the reviews (both good and bad).
Books for Learning Chinese
A great book for those just beginning to Learn Chinese is I Won't Bite. It's a touch and feel book that has Pinyin, Chinese Characters, and English. The challenge of using a book is often you need to know how to read Chinese, in order to teach from it. A fun book for exposing Children to Chinese Characters is Long Is A Dragon by Peggy Goldstein A selection of books for Learning Chinese Character
Software for Learning Chinese
Any day some software should arrive that has been highly recommended by customers.
Free Resources
ChildBook's Free area is very popular with parents. It
includes coloring pictures, instructions for games, and projects that
are free to print out and use to help making learning Chinese fun. There is even a free template for practicing Chinese Characters.
Which Chinese?
Mandarin
is the majority dialect of Chinese spoken. It's the official language
of China and Taiwan. Cantonese since the transition from British to
China has become less important and in my opinion will become a dialect
spoken at home and among friends. From a sales prospective, I did
stock after being asked to some Cantonese products at one time and they
took forever to sell. | 
